2017 Toyota 86 Racing Series Press Kit

KICK-OFF FOR SECOND SEASON OF 86 ACTION

The Toyota 86 Racing Series (T86RS) launched its 2017 season today with an open test and practice day at Sydney Motorsport Park.

With an exploding fan base among enthusiasts and motorsport talent-spotters, a growing grid of 86 racers will join the 2017 Supercars schedule at Phillip Island, Townsville, Sydney, Bathurst and Newcastle to vie for championship honours and a prize pool of $125,000.

With almost half a million spectators at race events and a television viewership of 1.77 million in 2016, the series has captivated race fans with close-quarter battles and frequent overtaking.

The diverse grid will feature aspiring racers of high-school age alongside racing veterans and established motorsport teams using the series as a development program, with multi-car entries.

"The Toyota 86 is the perfect platform to help develop driving and engineering skills," Mr Cramb said. "It is a professionally run competition with the hallmarks and demands of a marquee category.

"The series maintains the lowest entry fee for any national motorsport competition. The specification of the cars is designed to develop drivers and teams in a professional environment, while delivering the speed and door-to-door action viewers demand.

"The cost of cars and racing are comparatively low and attract a range of drivers, from those still at school with a national series in their sights to experienced businessmen and even a surgeon out there to have fun on the grid."

The T86RS sees a contingent of invited professional drivers mentor competitors at each round.

Pro drivers give advice on race-craft and driving techniques while also sharing their experience on engineering and team management.

"The category is designed to help aspiring racers step up to the next level of competition, something it has already done. Toyota looks forward to another season of intense action, and unearthing more of tomorrow's motorsport talent," Mr Cramb said.

Toyota motorsport
In 2017, Toyota marks the 60th anniversary of its first international motorsport entry (and the first by a Japanese car manufacturer), when it contested the 1957 Round Australia Trial. This is why many people consider Australia to be the birthplace of Toyota motorsport. Today, Toyota contests the FIA-sanctioned World Rally Championship (WRC), World Endurance Championship (WEC) which features the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the gruelling Dakar Rally. Closer to home, the Toyota 86 Racing Series seeks to develop the talent of tomorrow as Australia's premier grassroots circuit-racing category.

TOYOTA 86 RACING SERIES SETS BROWN ON TRACK FOR RACING CAREER

The Toyota 86 Racing Series (T86RS) is proving its potential as a breeding ground for motorsport talent with reigning champion Will Brown moving up to the Supercars development series in 2017.

Brown's talent as a rising star of Australian motorsport was recognised while winning seven of the scheduled 15 races in last year's debut season of the T86RS.

The Toowoomba teenager's success, including podiums at each of the T86RS' five rounds, was achieved in strong fields that included invited professional drivers such as Steve Johnson, Tony Longhurst, Glenn Seton and reigning Bathurst champ Jonathan Webb.

Brown credits the Toyota one-make series for giving him the opportunity and exposure to advance his circuit-racing career with the ultimate aim of racing in the Supercars championship.

Brown's strong Super2 debut outing at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide demonstrated the 18-year-old's talent. With a 10th place and two sixths across the weekend, Brown currently sits at sixth in the Super2 championship with 188 points.

"The Toyota 86 Racing Series is a one-of-a-kind category that helps you step up to a professional drive and has great exposure," Brown said.

"With such a large grid, the talent scouts really notice who is up front and the pro-drivers in the field boosts awareness of the class of driver in the 86 series," he said.

Toyota Australia's executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb congratulated Brown on the move, which also follows his success in formula categories last year and a class-winning performance at this year's Bathurst 12 Hour.

"Will's progress clearly demonstrates that the Toyota 86 Racing Series is an affordable category that provides the perfect platform for competitors to develop their skills and gain exposure before advancing up the motorsport ladder," Mr Cramb said.

Brown's father Shane said the T86RS was instrumental in Will securing his Super2 opportunity.

"When the Toyota series raced at Bathurst and Will was doing well, I started getting phone calls," he said. "It's professional, credible and it's on the world stage. If you do a good job, you will get recognised."

The five-round 2017 Toyota 86 Racing Series begins with the Phillip Island SuperSprint from April 21 to 23.

The Toyota 86 Racing Series
The Toyota 86 Racing Series is designed to provide an entry point and training ground for up-and-coming drivers, offering a confirmed prize pool of $125,000.

Open to variants of Toyota's cult-classic sports car, the series is part of the support program at selected rounds of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.

Toyota motorsport: In 2017, Toyota marks the 60th anniversary of its first international motorsport entry (and the first by a Japanese car manufacturer), when it contested the 1957 Round Australia Trial. This is why many people consider Australia to be the birthplace of Toyota motorsport. Today, Toyota contests the FIA-sanctioned World Rally Championship (WRC), World Endurance Championship (WEC) which features the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the gruelling Dakar Rally. Closer to home, the Toyota 86 Racing Series seeks to develop the talent of tomorrow as Australia's premier grassroots circuit-racing category.

LEARNING THE BUSINESS SIDE OF MOTORSPORT

Rising star Dylan Gulson will draw on the vast experience of motorsport great Mark Larkham to challenge for top honours in this year's Toyota 86 Racing Series (T86RS).

Gulson, 25, says two intensive days at Larkham's Australian MotorSport Academy in Queensland have been instrumental in helping him to hone the broad range of skills required to be successful in competitive racing.

"Mark's done it all in motorsport, so it was a great privilege to learn from him about aspects such as sponsorship, media commitments, race-car engineering, car set-up, driver preparation and data analysis - it really opened my eyes," Gulson said.

"It was all aimed at ensuring I arrive at a racetrack better prepared and organised, doing those one-to-five percenters that add up over a race weekend. In fact, we covered everything except actually driving on a track."

Gulson's exclusive access to Larkham was part of his prize for winning last season's T86RS Kaizen Award, which takes its name from a Japanese word meaning "continuous improvement".

The award is presented to a T86RS driver who finishes a season outside the top three and is judged a "rising star" based on results, consistency, hard-charging ability, clean passing and personal presentation. Gulson placed eighth.

Larkham - a former race driver, team owner and now motorsport TV commentator - said it was vital for young drivers like Gulson to learn the many and varied off-track skills required to beat the odds and achieve sustained success in motorsport.

"While the perception is that motorsport is all about driving a race car, the reality is that being successful encompasses so much more," Larkham said.

"Dylan's clearly hungry and has ability, plus he has a great demeanor and a genuine thirst to learn about all the aspects that make up quite a complex roadmap to motorsport success.

"He's not the youngest competitor in the series, but he has the advantage of maturity, which brings an ability to better understand some of the commercial realities - for example, what you need in your arsenal to stand in front of a board or a marketing manager to seek sponsorship.

"It's really important for him and for all young drivers to become all-rounders, which means gaining, to name but a few, business skills, communication skills, understanding the psychology of the sport and building their fitness in addition to improving their driving skills."

Larkham said the T86RS filled a void in the sport by providing a manufacturer-backed category that is affordable and, with a control specification, gives drivers an opportunity to both demonstrate and improve their abilities.

"On two fronts, it's aspirational for people who love the 86 and love the whole culture that's built around that car - and it's also aspirational for those who I would define as 'career aspirants' in pursuit of a full-time racing career," he said.

Gulson, who is in his final year of a journalism degree at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, would at least like to become a motoring writer irrespective of his on-track success.

"Being on the 86 grid is quite a rush and a lot of fun. Every second out there is a real thrill - it's definitely the best thing - and I plan to make the series my number one focus this year," he said.

The Toyota 86 Racing Series
The Toyota 86 Racing Series is designed to provide an entry point and training ground for up-and-coming drivers, offering a confirmed prize pool of $125,000.

Open to variants of Toyota's cult-classic sports car, the series is part of the support program at selected rounds of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.

Toyota motorsport: In 2017, Toyota marks the 60th anniversary of its first international motorsport entry (and the first by a Japanese car manufacturer), when it contested the 1957 Round Australia Trial. This is why many people consider Australia to be the birthplace of Toyota motorsport. Today, Toyota contests the FIA-sanctioned World Rally Championship (WRC), World Endurance Championship (WEC) which features the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the gruelling Dakar Rally. Closer to home, the Toyota 86 Racing Series seeks to develop the talent of tomorrow as Australia's premier grassroots circuit-racing category.